September 25, 2010

Daley advises successor away from 2020 Olympics bid

Chicago’s next mayor should think twice before launching a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Mayor Richard Daley said today, predicting the winning city will come from Asia or Africa.

Daley, who's not running for re-election, reacted to news that United States Olympic Committee officials have not ruled out a bid for the 2020 games by arguing that Chicago would face the same hurdle it did during the city’s unsuccessful push for the 2016 Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee chose Rio De Janeiro to become the first South American city to host the event in 2016. Daley said today that said the IOC likely will again seek to plant a flag in a country or region that hasn’t before hosted the Games.

“You have to look at the world. They’ve never been in India, they’ve never been in Africa and they haven’t been in the Middle East,” Daley said while speaking to reporters at the annual “Chicago Gourmet” high-end food and liquor tasting event in Millennium Park. “So those three parts of the world will come first, before any bid.”

U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Larry Probst told the Tribune Friday at the organization’s general assembly meeting that Chicago would be in the best position among American cities to quickly get ready for the protracted bid process, which could begin as soon as 2011. USOC chief executive officer Scott Blackmun said Friday that the likelihood of a U.S. bid for 2020 was "highly unlikely."

Chicago's 2016 bid was privately funded, with the team raising more than $72 million in cash donations. Daley pointed out today – as he has often in discussing the challenges Chicago faced – that many other countries pledge national support.

Daley described Chicago’s failed 2016 bid as “a great opportunity to really showcase Chicago,” but warned his potential successors to be wary of spending millions of dollars on another attempt, saying the political die may already be cast at the IOC.

“Make sure they’re not at the political decision,” Daley offered as advice to the next mayor. “If it’s a political decision, they have to go to India, they have to go to Africa, they have to go to the Middle East. You can’t participate. So be careful how much money you spend.”

“Whoever it is (serving as mayor) has to figure that out,” he said. “You just can’t bid for it and all of a sudden, say, Johannesburg or Cape Town’s going to get it. They’re going to get it. New Delhi, they’re going to get it. Someplace in the Middle East, they should get it. That’s the same reason they give for Rio De Janeiro.”

Chicago was eliminated first among the 2016 finalists nearly a year ago despite a push that included President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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